s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s >> whitaker: i'm bill whitaker. stick around for a special edition of "60 minutes," including a story about heroin in the heartland of america, and

interviews with david bowie. james drove his rav4 hybrid, unaware death was lurking. what? he was challenged by a team of lumberjacks. let's do this. he would drive them to hard knocks canyon, where he would risk broken legs, losing limbs, and slipping and dying. not helping. but death would have to wait. james left with newfound knowledge, a man's gratitude, and his shirt. how far will you take the all-new rav4 hybrid? toyota. let's go places. jake reese, "day to feel alive"

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captioning funded by cbs and ford. we go further, so you can.

access.wgbh.org captioning funded by cbs and ford. we go further, so you can. >> whitaker: what is this? you might think of heroin as primarily an inner city problem, but dealers are making huge

lucrative markets-- suburbs all across the country. i'm sitting here looking at you, and you look young and fresh. you're the... you're the girl next door. and you were addicted to heroin. >> i mean, obviously, it's very flattering that you say, like, i don't look like a junkie. but even miss america could be a junkie. i mean, anybody can be a junkie. >> take your time. >> the older people are passing it onto the younger generation so the younger generation can pass it onto the next generation. >> this is your mission. i don't want this music to die. >> i'm going home >> i'm going home to live... >> stahl: there didn't seem to

here, as they took the stage to perform "live, 55 plus and kicking," before a packed house in harlem. >> kroft: i'm steve kroft. >> stahl: i'm lesley stahl. >> whitaker: i'm bill whitaker. >> pelley: i'm scott pelley. those stories tonight on this special edition of "60 minutes." and an early morning mode. and a partly sunny mode. and an outside...to clear inside mode. transitions signature adaptive lenses... ...now have chromea7 technology... ...making them more responsive than ever to changing light. so life can look more vivid & vibrant. why settle for a lens with just one mode? experience life well lit . speak with your eyecare professional to...

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methamphetamines or cocaine, but heroin. you might think of heroin as primarily an inner city problem. but dealers connected to mexican drug cartels are making huge profits by expanding to new, lucrative markets-- suburbs all across the country. it's basic economics-- the dealers are going where the money is. and as we first reported last fall, they're cultivating a new set of consumers-- high school students, college athletes, teachers, and professionals. heroin is showing up everywhere, in places like columbus, ohio. the area has long been viewed as so typically middle american that, for years, many companies have gone there to test new products. we went to the columbus suburbs to see how heroin is taking hold in the heartland. i'm sitting here looking at you, and you look young and fresh.

next door. and you were addicted to heroin. >> hannah morris: i mean, obviously, it's very flattering that you say, like, i don't look like a junkie. but even miss america could be a junkie. i mean, anybody can be a junkie. >> whitaker: hannah morris is in college now. she says she's been clean for over a year, but in high school, she was using heroin. hannah lived outside columbus, in the upper middle-class suburb of worthington. her parents are professionals. the median income here is $87,000 a year. before she got hooked on heroin, hannah thought it was just another party drug. how did you get to those depths? what was the path you took? >> morris: it started with weed, and it was fun and i got the good weed. went to... oh, my gosh, i went to pills, and it was still fun-- you know, percocet, xanax, vicodin, all that kind of stuff. and then, yeah, heroin. i started smoking it at first. >> whitaker: so you were what, 15?

and i was like, "oh, my gosh, that was amazing." >> whitaker: you remember it even now? >> morris: oh, yeah. let's say i've never done a drug in my life. i would normally be happiness at a six or a seven at a scale out of ten, you know. and then you take heroin and you're automatically at a 26. and you're like, "i want that again." >> whitaker: hannah says the heroin was so addictive that, rather quickly, she and several other students went from smoking it at parties to shooting it up at high school. >> morris: like, doing it at school in the bathroom. >> whitaker: a syringe? >> morris: a syringe. i would have it in my purse, all ready to go. >> whitaker: jenna morrison has struggled to remain clean for three years. she comes from a town that is smaller and more rural than hannah's. jenna says her addiction started with legal opiates-- pain pills you can get with a prescription. chemically, they're almost identical to heroin. >> jenna morrison: i got on pain pills pretty bad when i was

came... >> morrison: when i was 18. >> whitaker: was it an easy transition from the pain pills to heroin? >> morrison: very, because i didn't realize at the time that heroin is an opiate. i didn't know that that was the same thing as the pills that i was using. >> whitaker: why were you using all these drugs? >> morrison: i'm in a small town. there was nothing to do. and i was hanging out with older people. so, that was our way of having fun, partying. >> mike dewine: this is the worst drug epidemic i've seen in... in my lifetime. >> whitaker: mike dewine is the attorney general of ohio. he's a former u.s. senator, congressman, and a county prosecutor. we met him at a state crime lab outside columbus. >> dewine: it's in every single county. it's in our cities, but it's also in our wealthier suburbs. it's in our small towns. there is no place in ohio where you can hide from it. >> whitaker: it's that

>> dewine: there is no place in ohio where you couldn't have it delivered to you in 15, 20 minutes. >> morris: i can text and say, "hey, do you have this?" we can meet. they would bring it to my house, leave it under the mat. it's pretty easy to get. >> whitaker: full service. >> morris: uh-huh, yeah. to me, it was easier to get than weed or cocaine, definitely easier. >> whitaker: dealers with connections to the mexican cartels sell heroin everywhere, even in this department store parking lot outside columbus. >> he'll be coming out of that car right there. >> whitaker: our cameras captured the purchase of this heroin by an undercover police informant. what is this? >> so this is a couple types of heroin that we see. >> whitaker: attorney general mike dewine's staffers say the mexican heroin can be cheap-- $10 a hit or less. some of it is cut with other drugs that make it even more powerful and deadly. and dealers keep inventing new ways to outwit law enforcement.

>> these are actually tablets. so they are pressed to look like a actual prescription tablet, but they contain heroin. >> whitaker: heroin in pill form. >> that look like pills, correct. >> whitaker: this... this is new. >> very new. we've only seen a few cases in the lab. >> whitaker: and something else mike dewine says is new since his days as a county prosecutor- - heroin has lost its stigma as a poisonous, back alley drug. >> dewine: there's no psychological barrier anymore that stops a young person or an older person from taking heroin. >> whitaker: so, who is the typical heroin user in ohio today? >> dewine: anybody watching today this show. it could be your family. there's no typical person. it just has permeated every segment of society in ohio. >> whitaker: even the well-to-do town of pickerington, 30 minutes outside of columbus. tyler campbell was a star of the high school football team. he went on to play division one

for tyler, heroin wasn't a party drug. his parents, wayne and christy campbell, say his heroin habit grew from his addiction to opiate painkillers, prescribed legally after he injured his shoulder. what were the pills? >> christy campbell: it was vicodin. >> wayne campbell: vicodin. he had 60 vicodin for his shoulder surgery. >> whitaker: that's a normal prescription? >> wayne campbell: for that procedure. >> whitaker: it's easy for kids to sell their excess pills. they're popular recreational drugs in high schools and colleges, so much in demand that one pill can cost up to $80. pill addicts like tyler often switch to heroin because it's a cheaper opiate with a bigger high. tyler was in and out of rehab four times. the night he came home the last time, he couldn't fight the uncontrollable urge that is heroin addiction. he shot up in his bedroom and died of a heroin overdose. he wasn't the only addict on his college football team.

unfortunately, the quarterback died four months after tyler, in 2011, same situation. >> christy campbell: same-- accidental overdose. >> first of all, if you don't talk about it, right? >> whitaker: after tyler died, the campbells met many families whose children were heroin addicts in the suburbs of columbus. like tyler, most got hooked on pills first. started with pain pills? >> absolutely. >> whitaker: t.j. and heidi riggs' daughter died of a heroin overdose. marin was a high school basketball player and captain of her golf team. lea heidman and brian malone's daughter alyssa died of an overdose earlier this year. brenda stewart has two sons in recovery. tracy morrison is jenna morrison's mother, and has a second daughter who is also a recovering addict. rob brandt's son was an addict. >> rob brandt: he battled it through high school. >> whitaker: he says his son robby got hooked on pain pills prescribed by a dentist after his wisdom teeth were removed. he was in training with the national guard, hoping to serve

>> brandt: and when he came home, he met up with an old friend that he used to buy and sell prescription medications with, and that old friend introduced him to heroin. and we did the... we did rehab, we did relapse, we did rehab, and he got clean. but the drug called his name again and... and he said yes, and that was the last time and he passed from an accidental overdose. >> whitaker: for many of these parents, the hardest thing to accept was losing their children after they thought they'd finally beaten the addiction. >> lea heidman: she passed away the day after st. patrick's day. and she posted on st. patrick's day a picture of her on her laptop, studying, doing homework, saying, "no partying i'm staying in and i'm... and i'm working." and the next day she used, and that was the last time she used. >> tracy morrison: i am a nurse... >> whitaker: tracy morrison, jenna's mother, trained to be a

she says the medical profession must bear some responsibility for the heroin epidemic. she says doctors over-prescribe >> tracy morrison: i graduated in the '80s. i was a nursing director when we decided to swing the pendulum from not treating pain to treat everybody's pain. i was a part of that. and at that time, i had no idea that we were addicting people. >> whitaker: in 2014, three quarters of a billion pain pills were prescribed by doctors in ohio-- nearly 65 pills for every man, woman and child in the state. how did you respond when your daughters told you they were using heroin? >> tracy morrison: well, they first told me they were using the pills, and how i found out they were using heroin was i came home from work one day, made dinner, and i was yelling for my youngest daughter to come for dinner and she didn't. and i walked into her bedroom and her boyfriend was shooting

>> tracy morrison: i saw it. >> whitaker: what did you do? >> tracy morrison: dropped the plate of food. i dropped it. and i was hysterical. >> whitaker: tracy's daughter jenna is 25 now. she knows she's lucky to be alive. >> jenna morrison: in my addiction, i have been to rehab 17 times, and i had been to jail six or seven times. so every time i went to jail, i got out, went to rehab, came home and relapsed, and then did it all over again. >> whitaker: you overdosed, as well? >> morrison: uh-huh. >> whitaker: how many times? >> morrison: i only overdosed once, and i woke up in an ambulance. >> whitaker: jenna would have died if emergency medical technicians hadn't injected her with naloxone hydrochloride, also called narcan. it quickly reverses the effects of opiates in the brain. >> so this is the kit... >> whitaker: the heroin problem in ohio is so big, families and friends of addicts-- not just

taught to administer narcan, which is now available without a prescription. >> this is what it looks like. this is the little purple cap, actually is the medication. >> tracy morrison: this is a hurricane. >> whitaker: though she's a nurse, tracy morrison says, at first, she had no idea her daughters were addicts. neither did the other parents. but they feel they missed all the signs and let their children down. you feel guilty? >> every day. >> heidi riggs: you lost the battle, so you're always going to say, "is there something i could have done differently? is... you know, did... why didn't i notice it when i had missing spoons that it wasn't because, you know, they left cereal bowls upstairs. it was actually because, you know, she was using them to shoot heroin." but who would have thought our children would ever do heroin? >> whitaker: all of these parents say they wanted to talk to us because too many other families are embarrassed, in denial about their kids' heroin use. these parents say the stigma and shame are compounding the epidemic. >> heidi riggs: no one was

in pickerington. and so, for us, we were total shock when it happened. and... but the struggle was the stigma. >> brenda stewart: never say, "not my child." >> yeah, right. >> brenda stewart: because you never know. it could end up being your child. >> brian malone: you never want to get that call. you never want to get that call. >> whitaker: the call you got? >> brian malone: the call you got, and we got the call. >> whitaker: today, heroin overdoses take the lives of at least 23 people in ohio every week. we were told many other heroin deaths go unreported. i'm sure there are some who would be watching this and would say, "heroin addicts are junkies and they brought this on themselves, so why should we care?" >> tracy morrison: because we don't throw diabetics who sit on the couch eating bonbons and smoke and they weigh 300 pounds in prison. we don't belittle them, and there's not a big stigma. we don't do that to people that chain smoke and develop lung

it's a chronic, relapsing brain disease, period, amen, end of story. and we need to accept it, even if it makes people uncomfortable. and if people don't like that, i'm sorry. james drove his rav4 hybrid into the frozen wilderness. the scent of his jerky attracted a hungry wolfpack behind him. to survive, he had to remain fearless. he would hunt with them. and expand their territory. he'd form a bond with a wolf named accalia... ...become den mother and nurse their young. james left in search of his next adventure. how far will you take the all-new rav4 hybrid? toyota. let's go places. i recommend nature made fish oil. because i trust their quality. they were the first to have a product verified by usp. an independent organization that sets strict quality and purity standards. nature made. the number one pharmacist recommended

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the show was created by a theater producer and former disc jockey named vy higginsen, who has made it her mission to preserve a special part of american culture-- african- american music, both gospel and popular music like soul and r&b. she found a pool of untapped talent, men and women in what she calls the "second half of life," just waiting for their chance to shine. the show is called "alive: 55 plus and kickin'". and while that certainly fits the men and women who fill this harlem stage on saturday afternoons, "alive" also refers to the music, and that is just how vy higginsen wants it. >> vy higginsen: the older people carry the music in their body, in their mind. if they die, then that sound may

>> stahl: her idea was not just to celebrate the music. she also wanted to produce a show about the life experiences and struggles that created it. she figured she'd start by finding the voices, then write stories for each character afterward. at least, that was the plan over a year ago when she put out the call for auditions. >> higginsen: we talked about it on the radio, auditions for 55 plus, and they said, "this is a youth-oriented society. nobody wants to hear about us." i want to hear about you! >> ( singing "ain't no sunshine" ) >> stahl: theo harris, 65, was one of more than 200 people who showed up to audition. he had caught one of the radio announcements on his way home from work. >> theo harris: i pulled the car over to the side of the street. i said, "this is what i've been waiting for."

>> harris: i'm there. that's for me, yes. >> stahl: debbie bingham, 56, always wanted to sing, but she needed a steady job to raise her family, so she became a nurse. >> debbie bingham: i worked in pediatrics, in the trauma center, so i did a little bit of everything. >> stahl: did you ever dream of being a professional singer? >> bingham: all the time. >> stahl: renee walker, also 56, works for her local school district. >> renee walker: when i started working there, i told myself it would just be a temporary job until i made it as a singer. so, i've been there 31 temporary years. >> stahl: in some cases, the talent was obvious. in others, like a 75-year-old named matthew brown, a little

>> higginsen: oh, matthew brown. when he walked through the door, he came in... he was bent over, looking down, and i was thinking to myself, "what's gonna happen here?" >> stahl: "he... he's not right for this show." >> higginsen: well, i don't know. i mean, look at... whew. >> stahl: she looked at you and said, "uh-uh." >> matthew brown: yes. yes. yes. >> stahl: she told you that? >> brown: she told me that. >> higginsen: he took the mic. he pulled his shoulders back. he started to sing. and i fell out in my chair. ah! >> brown: shall always be my song of praise... >> higginsen: my god! that's what i'm looking for. >> brown: and i looked at her. and she straightened up. ( laughs ) >> higginsen: who sings like that today? you can't turn on the radio and hear that. but i heard that when i was a

>> stahl: he sounded, to her, like nat king cole. did you know you had... that you got it? >> brown: i... i told myself, "you got it." but i won't... i won't say anything. >> ( singing "ain't no sunshine" ) >> stahl: vy heard a different sound in theo harris' voice. >> higginsen: i put him a little bit in the crooner/doo-wop section. >> stahl: the doo-wop. >> higginsen: the doo-wop time. >> stahl: vy's plan had been to create a story for each singer that would match their individual sound. that was before she knew what kind of stories were right in front of her. theo harris revealed at his audition that he had spent time in prison. when he said how much time, he wasn't sure anyone heard him correctly. >> harris: greg kelly, who was the pianist, said, "wait a minute, how many years did you

and i said, "40." >> greg kelly: 40? >> harris: yes. >> kelly: four zero? >> harris: yes. and that's when vy heard it. >> higginsen: 40 years in prison? >> harris: in and out. >> stahl: harris told her he had committed burglaries, many in her neighborhood, harlem, to get money to feed a drug habit. vy told us she was conflicted, but when she and her husband and collaborator, director ken wydro, made their choices and assembled a cast to start creating the show, theo was sitting front and center. why did you pick him if he's this person who destroyed your neighborhood? >> higginsen: because he's part of it. he's part of the big picture. i can't ignore that. and perhaps it was necessary for him to have a second chance. perhaps he deserved it, another chance. >> stahl: and theo harris wasn't the only one they had chosen with a dramatic story, and he wasn't the only one who needed a second chance.

of 13 children in north carolina, had spent most of his life illiterate. >> brown: i was just ashamed, or i don't know what it was. but i just... just couldn't learn. you pull up a piece of paper and say, "read one word," i'm ready to run someplace. >> stahl: for decades, he drank until the alcohol started to affect his singing voice, and that terrified him. >> brown: i remember the last drink i had. it was a guy i was drinking with. i told him, i said, "this is the last drink you ever gonna see me drink." >> stahl: of course, he didn't believe you. but was it the last... >> brown: he might have been too drunk. that was it. >> stahl: that was it? >> brown: that's been 28 years ago. >> stahl: 28 years ago. >> brown: november the 2nd, 28 years ago. >> higginsen: when we heard his story, i just fell apart. i just... that's when you knew that you had to tell that story. >> stahl: yeah, you couldn't...

>> stahl: it was a turning point. vy and ken decided to take a risk-- to have each singer tell his or her own true story paired with a song. debbie bingham, the nurse, wanted to talk about losing her son. he passed away four years ago. >> bingham: my son was diagnosed with cancer when he was 34 years old. >> stahl: oh, my word. she's the one who took care of him. >> bingham: it didn't matter how much i knew. it didn't matter how much i helped other people, i just couldn't do anything. >> stahl: debbie knew what she wanted to sing in the show-- "i will always love you," the song made famous by whitney houston. >> bingham: only problem was vy wasn't crazy about it at first. >> higginsen: i wasn't sure. >> stahl: why weren't you sure?

not sung the right way, it misses big time. >> bingham: ken said yes. vy said no. ken said, "why not?" vy said, "because." and i said to her, "if you give me the chance to show you, i promise you you won't be disappointed." >> higginsen: how do you say no to that? >> stahl: you can't say no. >> higginsen: i can't say no to that. but i did say, "okay. but have another song, just in case." ( laughs ) >> stahl: theo harris wanted to sing about his time in prison and how it was music that got him through. >> harris: they had a 10:00 quiet bell, which meant all talking ceases. so one evening, i started singing. and it was real quiet. and then when i finished, i heard somebody say, "who was that singing?" and i... hesitantly, i said, "that was me." they said, "well, keep singing." >> stahl: keep singing.

i was their radio from that point on. >> stahl: any song you felt like? >> harris: and... well, they... and took requests. >> stahl: oh, took requests? >> harris: and took requests, yes. >> stahl: harris used his prison time to get an education-- a college degree, and then a masters in playwriting. when a musical he wrote was performed at the prison, music brought him something else-- a leading lady. >> phyllis harris: of course, they had to get somebody from the outside, because it's an all-male prison. and so my sister doris, she volunteered me. >> stahl: phyllis and her sister do volunteer work at the prison through their church. >> harris: so when she came in, we saw each other for the first time. it was just some chemistry there. >> stahl: right away? >> harris: right away. >> stahl: did you know that he had been a drug addict? >> phyllis harris: after our first meeting. >> stahl: he told you everything? >> phyllis harris: our first visit, he told me everything. >> stahl: and she played your wife? >> harris: she played my wife in the play. and seven months later, she became my wife. >> stahl: she married you while you were behind bars? >> harris: while i was in

>> stahl: turns out vy had cast phyllis in the show without even knowing she was theo's wife. vy felt she was hearing the stories of a generation, the generation that came of age during the era of urban decay and the struggle for civil rights-- the black baby boomers. >> higginsen: that was one of the most creative musical time periods. there were sounds that were created out of the emotion. >> stahl: but not everyone in the group had such dramatic stories of struggle. renee walker, the school clerk, raised her two children in a middle-class suburb. >> ken wydro: okay, whoa, whoa, whoa. what were you feeling singing that? just now, what were you feeling? >> walker: it's hard for me, because i don't really like to talk about myself that much, not my... my innermost feelings.

getting in touch with our feelings. >> stahl: they decided renee would sing about something that was really more success story than tragedy-- watching her sons leave home to go off to college. >> wydro: and what did you feel when you had to say goodbye? >> walker: sad. >> wydro: sad. >> stahl: you want to sing on the stage, it has to come out. >> walker: it has to come out. >> stahl: and there was one last story, from a man named matthew burke. he and theo harris had sung together in prison. he sold drugs, and committed violent armed robbery. but what he wanted to talk about in the show was what he had recently discovered in a case file about the first weeks of his life. it says that you were abandoned at two-and-a-half weeks in a hallway. >> burke: yes. >> stahl: mother unknown. father unknown.

from our parents is a name. he was simply "abandoned 2360." you are a number. >> burke: and you want to know something? i became 81a3684. i became 00a6432. that's been my life-- a number. >> stahl: you're smiling. t you don't mean it. >> burke: right. and that's the defense mechanism. >> stahl: right, because it's horrible. he was named matthew burke by a priest in the first of many foster homes. when he sings the song "georgia," he told us he's trying to give a name to what he lost. >> burke: if i had to give my mother a name, and i could give her a name-- i can-- it would be

>> stahl: i know a psychiatrist who says the most important question she asks somebody is, "when you were growing up, who loved you?" do you have an answer? >> burke: that's very difficult to answer-- who loved me-- because there's different types of love. >> stahl: unconditional. i mean... >> burke: yeah, unconditional... >> stahl: that's what i mean. >> burke: i've never... i've never experienced that. >> stahl: so you... you have no answer for that question. >> burke: i have no answer. to this day, i have no answer to that. >> stahl: it was daring, bringing real people, none of them trained actors, to tell their own stories on the stage. what happened when the show opened when we come back. across america, people like basketball hall of famer dominique wilkins... ...are taking charge of their type 2 diabetes... ...with non-insulin victoza .

but it didn't get me to my goal. so i asked my doctor about victoza . he said victoza works differently than pills. and comes in a pen. victoza is proven to lower blood sugar and a1c. it's taken once a day, any time. victoza is not for weight loss, but it may help you lose some weight. victoza is an injectable prescription medicine that may improve blood sugar in adults with type 2 diabetes when used with diet and exercise. it is not recommended as the first medication to treat diabetes... ...and should not be used in people with type 1 diabetes or diabetic ketoacidosis. victoza has not been studied with mealtime insulin. victoza is not insulin. do not take victoza if you have a personal or family history of medullary thyroid cancer... ...multiple endocrine neoplasia syndrome type 2, or if you are allergic to... ...victoza or any of its ingredients. symptoms of a serious allergic reaction... ...may include itching, rash, or difficulty breathing.

... ...including inflammation of the pancreas (pancreatitis). stop taking victoza ... ...and call your doctor right away if you have signs of pancreatitis such as severe pain that will not go away in your abdomen or from your abdomen to your back... ...with or without vomiting. tell your doctor about all the medicines you take... ...and if you have any medical conditions. taking victoza with a sulfonylurea or... ...insulin may cause low blood sugar. the most common side effects are headache, nausea... ...diarrhea, and vomiting. side effects can lead to dehydration... ...which may cause kidney problems. if your pill isn't giving you... ...the control you need... ...ask your doctor about non-insulin victoza .

s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s >> stahl: we first met vy higginsen several years back, when she launched gospel for teens, a program to teach the hip-hop generation the art of singing gospel. the teens are still coming, more and more of them each year. it's all part of her drive to keep this music alive, and what better way to do that than to bring the young and the old together? we were there when vy invited her over-55 crew to a gospel for teens class, for what she called an "intergenerational exchange."

>> brown: that old man river, he don't say nothing... >> stahl: vy wanted to know what the kids heard in matthew brown's voice. >> i hear the journey that he lived, coming from segregation, coming from racism. i feel all the pain that our people had to endure, just by listening to his voice. and i thank him so much for sharing that with us. >> higginsen: wow! ( applause ) >> stahl: she wanted the kids to try to copy the sounds they'd heard. >> roberta ross: soon, i will be done... >> sateena turner: soon, i will be done... ( laughter ) >> higginsen: the older people are passing it on to the younger

generation can pass it on to the next generation. >> stahl: and this is your mission. >> higginsen: i don't want this music to die. >> ross: i'm goin' home >> turner: i'm goin' home >> both: to live with god. ( applause ) >> stahl: there sure didn't seem to be any risk of any music dying here, as vy's group took the stage to perform "alive: 55- plus and kickin'" before a packed house in harlem. >> walker: vy has a saying: the first 50 years are for learning, and the second 50 years are for living. life just begins when you're in your 50s. >> brown: amazing grace... >> stahl: it's a message that

and that's what comes through in the music, and the real life stories, as when matthew brown, the 75-year-old janitor, tells the audience about his battle with illiteracy. >> brown: i couldn't read or write. and when i turned 16, i started to drink. and then, i was 50. ( laughter ) but i had no give-up in me! i went back to school to learn to read and write. ( applause ) >> stahl: he started writing poems, and even entered a poetry contest. >> brown: i took third place. ( applause ) >> stahl: then, two years later, an essay contest. >> brown: i took first place! ( applause ) >> harris: no matter what life

what you have done throughout your life, there's always a chance to get it right. >> stahl: always. >> harris: and this play-- it's not even a play. this is real people telling real stories who have been through real struggles. and it's been a healing process for me. oh, my love my darling... ( cheers and applause ) >> stahl: when the man who spent more than half his life in prison sings about hoping his wife will wait for him, it feels as though the song is his story. >> harris: are you still mine? i need your love... >> stahl: but as in so many stories, this one had another twist. seven years after theo got out of prison, he started using drugs again. he robbed a hotel clerk and ended up in jail. >> harris: i've never

until that night. i didn't want any human contact, and i certainly didn't want to call my wife. >> phyllis harris: very early sunday morning, the phone ring. >> harris: and i said, "i'm in jail." and i'm saying to myself, "she's gonna hang up. she's gonna leave me." >> phyllis harris: he got silent. and i said, "do you love me?" >> harris: and i started crying. i said, "yes, phyllis, i love you." she said, "well, i'll be there for you." she said, "we'll get through this together." you know i need your love... >> phyllis harris: then when i said it, i'm like, "what?" i'm saying to myself, "what did i say?" >> stahl: you don't know why you said it? >> phyllis harris: i don't know, no. ( laughs ) >> stahl: but you said it? >> phyllis harris: but i said it. >> stahl: she waited eight and a half more years. ( applause ) >> walker: if i could, i'd

your eyes... >> stahl: then, a surprise. the woman with the least dramatic story singing about sending her children off to college gets the most emotional response. >> walker: and if i could in a time and place where you don't want to be... the song is a parent to a child, wanting the best of everything for that child. i could have written it myself, it's that real for me. my yesterday won't have to be your way if i knew... >> burke: i love all the songs. but that song for me, i sta... she used to rehearse it here. and all the men were crying.

and they used to tease us and say, "okay, renee's gonna bring the klee... kleenex to the boys." >> stahl: when we looked backstage during her song, there they were. >> burke: and i'm imagining in my mind that it's my mother saying that to me. >> stahl: and when it's his >> burke: maybe you were just too young. >> stahl: ...matthew burke speaks to his mother, trying to understand why she abandoned him. >> burke: maybe you were sick. maybe you thought that what you did was best for both you, and for me. >> stahl: then he sings to her, the mother he had had to name himself. >> burke: georgia whoa, georgia the whole day through... >> stahl: so have you forgiven your mother? >> burke: i'd like to believe that i've forgiven her fully.

>> burke: there's a lot of things that could have happened. and the only one thing that i hope was not the case is that she said, "i don't want this child." >> stahl: this child? >> burke: me. >> bingham: but i know... >> stahl: after a son mourning the absence of his mother, a mother mourns the loss of her son with the song vy hadn't been sure about. >> bingham: and i... >> walker: you know, i've heard it said that if you lose your spouse, you're a widow or a widower. if you lose your parents, you're an orphan. but they said, "what do you call someone that has to bury their child?" what do you call them? we don't have a name for it. >> bingham: there was a time when i couldn't tell the story to anybody without just bursting into tears. >> stahl: singing about it, she says, helps.

and happiness... but above all of this, i wish you love... ( cheers and applause ) >> stahl: there's a pause before the song kicks up into a higher key... >> higginsen: they're cheering for her... >> stahl: ...if she makes it. >> higginsen: is she gonna get it? >> bingham: and i... >> higginsen: she nailed it! >> bingham: ...will always love you... >> stahl: having sung their songs and told their stories, this cast of characters in their "second half of life" comes together for a grand finale. and it's hard to avoid the sense that vy's drive to keep the

something more. >> bingham: the overall point of the show is this-- it's never too late for anything. i'm not that sad little lady that i was before and things are going to be okay. >> stahl: second chances. is that the way you see this? >> harris: how about seven chances? ( laughs ) >> stahl: i'm told that you tell people you're looking at a miracle. >> harris: if you're not looking at a miracle, i don't know what a miracle looks like. >> brown: this is what i've always wanted to do. >> stahl: you told us that you feel like you're floating. >> brown: ever since when i auditioned last year. i've been floating ever since then. >> stahl: you're still up floating. >> brown: oh, i haven't been down since then. >> higginsen: yes! ( applause ) >> brown: i love being an old man. ( laughs ) >> yes! yes!

>> stahl: the 2016 season of "alive: 55 plus and kickin'" begins in april. before i had the shooting, burning, pins-and-needles of diabetic nerve pain, these feet served my country, carried the weight of a family, and walked a daughter down the aisle. but i couldn't bear my diabetic nerve pain any longer. so i talked to my doctor and he prescribed lyrica. nerve damage from diabetes causes diabetic nerve pain. lyrica is fda approved to treat this pain from moderate to even severe diabetic nerve pain. lyrica may cause serious allergic reactions or suicidal thoughts or actions. tell your doctor right away if you have these, new or worsening depression, or unusual changes in mood or behavior. or swelling, trouble breathing, rash, hives, blisters, muscle pain with fever,tired feeling or blurry vision. common side effects are dizziness, sleepiness, weight gain and swelling of hands, legs, and feet. don't drink alcohol while taking lyrica. don't drive or use machinery until you know how lyrica affects you.

may be more likely to misuse lyrica. now i have less diabetic nerve pain. and my biggest reason to walk calls me grandpa. ask your doctor about lyrica. and can you explain why you recommend synthetic over cedar? "super food?" is that a real thing? it's a great school, but is it the right one for her? is this really any better than the one you got last year? if we consolidate suppliers, what's the savings there? so should we go with the 467 horsepower? ...or is a 423 enough? good question. you ask a lot of good questions... i think we should move you into our new fund.d. sure... ok. but are you asking enough about how your wealth is managed?